Tomoyasu Website

Daily English News

October

October 1, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is replacing more than half the ministers in his Cabinet as part of a reshuffle aimed at boosting support for Japan’s ruling coalition.
2. Six U.S. military Osprey transport aircraft have arrived at a base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.
3. A Bank of Japan survey suggests that business sentiment among major manufacturers has worsened for the first time in three quarters
October 2, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
1. 1.Syria’s foreign minister has publicly denounced members of the U.N. Security Council and other countries for supporting rebel forces in his country.
2. 2.A senior North Korean diplomat says his country will launch a new diplomatic policy of forging ties with nations without being bound by the past.
3. 3.Finance ministers from the Group of Eight nations will meet in Tokyo to deal with rising social problems in the Middle East.
  October 3, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. Michael Rhys
  1. 1.The rapid fall in the value of Iran’s currency is hurting exports to the country.
  2. 2.Tunisia’s prime minister says Arab countries should get more involved in the civil war in Syria.
  3. 3.A Japanese diplomat has refuted an article in the New York Times which suggests China rather than Japan may have the better claim to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea
    October 4, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Maxwell Powers and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
    1. 1.Turkey has fired artillery into Syria, after a shell from the country hit a Turkish border town, killing five people.
    2. 2.The plummeting value of Iran’s currency has triggered street clashes in the capital, Tehran.
    3. 3. The controversial Osprey military aircraft has made its first flight in Japan’s southern prefecture of Okinawa, after U.S. forces deployed it there.
      October 5, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
      1. 1.Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force says it has spotted a Chinese naval fleet in international waters between two southwestern Japanese islands.
      2. 2.South Korea has protested that a helicopter belonging to Japan’s Self-Defense Force entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone near disputed islands in the Sea of Japan.
      3.The U.S. military in Okinawa is conducting a second day of training flights of the tilt-rotor Osprey transport aircraft on Friday.
      
      October 6, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
      1. 1.Japan is once again calling for the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes in Asian waters according to international law.
      2. 2.Two major U.S. newspapers have carried reports on the islands at the center of a territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea.
      3. 3.Japan Airlines will cut more flights linking Japan and China as tensions between the two countries continue.
        October 7, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa and Ms. Risa Shimizu
        
        1.Turkish military fired artillery shells into Syria for the fourth straight day on Saturday, responding to mortar attacks over the border.
        
        2.Japanese government officials say they will continue to urge the U.S. military to abide by the operational rules for Osprey aircraft deployed in Okinawa. The aircraft’s poor safety record has local citizens concerned.
        
        3.The stone monument of an ancient Japanese envoy to China has been vandalized in the Chinese city of Xian where anti-Japan protests took place recently.
        October 8, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
        
        1.Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has instructed the environment minister to speed up the decontamination of the area affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
        
        2.A heavyweight in Taiwan’s opposition party has met ministerial or higher-level Chinese politicians in Beijing.
        
        3.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is set for his fourth term in office
        October 9, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Mick Corliss
        
        1.The world’s financial leaders have gathered in Tokyo for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
        
        2.The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for global growth by 0.2 percentage points to 3.3 percent.
        
        3.Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka, winning this year'sNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the people who made his research possible.
        
        October 10, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Risa Shimizu
        
        1.Two key Chinese officials will not be attending meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Tokyo. They have cancelled their attendance in an apparent protest against Japan.
        
        2.Turkey has deployed 25 additional fighter jets near its border with Syria.
        
        3.Japan and Taiwan are discussing whether or not to resume talks about fishing rights around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
        October 11, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Patrick Devolpi
        
        1.Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors are preparing to discuss ways to create steady economic growth amid the prolonged credit crisis in Europe.
        
        2.Japan’s ambassador to the United States is countering a claim made in a U.S. newspaper regarding its territorial dispute with China.
        
        3.The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant says melted fuel at the bottom of the No.1 reactor is being kept cool.
        October 12, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Mr. Maxwell Powers
        
        1.The head of the International Monetary Fund has urged countries around the world to cooperate in achieving economic growth amid the global slowdown.
        
        2.The Japanese government has downgraded its overall assessment of the country’s economy for a third straight month.
        
        3.Japan and China have failed to narrow their differences over a dispute involving the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
        October 13, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
        
        1.This year’s Japanese Nobel Prize laureate for medicine Shinya Yamanaka has expressed his ambition to apply clinically induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, within 4 or 5 years.
        
        2.Meanwhile, a Japanese researcher is at the center of a growing controversy in the field of iPS research.
        
        3.Finance ministers of industrialized and oil-rich countries have agreed to contribute more than 160 million dollars to a fund to shore up democracies born in the Arab Spring movement
        October 14, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read byMr.Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
        
        1.Syrian opposition fighters are stepping up their offensive against government forces, and gaining ground in areas near the border with Turkey.
        
        2.A senior member of the European Central Bank has urged indebted countries to apply for its bond-buying program.
        
        3.Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group has agreed to cooperate with 9 Asian banks in the joint development of bond markets in other parts of Asia.
        October 15, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai and Mr. David Crystal
        
        1.Monday marks 10 years since 5 Japanese citizens returned to Japan after being abducted by North Korea and spending decades in the country.
        
        2.Britain’s defense secretary says the nation’s will withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013.
        
        3.Lithuanian voters are expected to reject the idea of building a new nuclear power plant in a national referendum currently under way.
        October 16, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.European Union members have decided to further tighten economic sanctions against Iran.
        
        2.Myanmar’s government officials have welcomed the resumption of regular flights from Japan after a 12-year break.
        
        3.Russia’s ruling party swept gubernatorial elections on Sunday. The elections were the country’s first regional polls in 8 years.
        October 17, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has asked France to support his government’s purchase last month of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
        
        2.Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto says the alleged rape of a Japanese woman in Okinawa by two U.S. servicemen, is an extremely heinous crime.
        
        3.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda plans to order his ministers to compile new stimulus measures by the end of next month.
        October 18, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.The U.N. and Arab League peace envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is visiting neighboring countries to seek support for a ceasefire during a major Muslim holiday later this month.
        
        2.China’s economic growth slowed further in the third quarter of this year.
        
        3.Japan’s top court has ruled that the vote value disparity in the 2010 Upper House election was effectively unconstitutional.
        October 19, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.European leaders have agreed on the introduction of a banking union which will oversee banks across the eurozone to contain the ongoing European debt crisis.
        
        2.The Chinese Navy is set to begin a joint exercise in the East China Sea on Friday with the country’s patrol vessels.
        
        3.Japan’s Justice Minister Keishu Tanaka has reportedly expressed his intention to step down.
        
        October 20, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
        
        1.      A massive car bomb exploded in central Beirut on Friday, killing a top Lebanese security official and several other people. Security authorities say the bomb killed at least 8 people and left more than 70 wounded.
        
        2.      European Union leaders have agreed to aim at starting talks on a free trade deal with Japan in the months ahead.
        
        3.      A U.N. conference on biodiversity has agreed to double the amount of funds for developing countries by 2015 to help protect their ecosystems.
        October 21, Sunday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read byMr.Hirokazu Sakamaki and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
        
        1.      China’s state-run television reported that Chinese Naval vessels entered waters near a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
        
        2.      The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria has met with Syria’s foreign minister and discussed conditions for a ceasefire.
        
        3.      The annual Tokyo International Film Festival has opened.
        
        October 22, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Raja Pradan and Ms. Yuka Matsumoto
        
        1.      Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has declined to say whether he will agree to the ceasefire call made by the U.N.-Arab League envoy in Damascus on Sunday.
        
        2.      Ministers from about 40 countries are meeting in Seoul, South Korea, to discuss a new framework on climate change.
        
        3.      Officials from more than 50 Japanese businesses have learned about preliminary plans for a special economic zone in Myanmar.
        
        October 23, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mick Corliss and Ms. Helen Lewis
        
        1.      A senior U.N. official says the United Nations has begun making plans to send a peacekeeping mission to Syria.
        
        2.      An Italian court has sentenced seven earthquake experts to six years in prison over the 2009 quake that rocked L’Aquila in central Italy.
        
        3.      Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has lodged a protest with senior U.S. government officials over the alleged sexual assault of a Japanese woman by two U.S. servicemen.
        
        October 24, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Keiko Kitagawa
        
        1.      Japanese government sources say a senior diplomat made a secret visit to Shanghai last weekend.
        
        2.      Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has reappointed Makoto Taki as justice minister following the resignation of Keishu Tanaka.
        
        3.      The Emir of Qatar has become the first head of state to visit Gaza since Israel and Egypt blockaded the coastal strip 5 years ago.
        
        October 25, Thursday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Helen Lewis and Mr. Patrick Devolpi
        
        1.      The U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria has expressed hope for a long-term ceasefire to follow the prolonged temporary truce.
        
        2.      Japan’s Coast Guard is warning 4 Chinese maritime surveillance ships to leave Japan’s territorial waters in the East China Sea.
        
        3.      Sudan’s government has condemned Israel, saying its military air-bombed an arms factory in the capital, Khartoum.
        
        October 26, Friday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Risa Shimizu and Ms. David Crystal
        
        1.      The Syrian government has announced a conditional ceasefire from Friday morning to Monday.
        
        2.      The latest outbreak of religious violence in western Myanmar has killed at least 56 people and destroyed nearly 2,000 homes.
        
        3.      The Japanese government has decided on a new 5-billion-dollar stimulus package aimed at propping up the nation’s slowing economy.
        
        October 27, Saturday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Mark Robinson and Ms. Fumiko Konoe
        
        1.      The Japanese government has decided to postpone a joint military exercise in the East China Sea with the United States.
        
        2.      A Japanese retailer has re-opened two of its department stores in China’s Hunan Province since they were attacked and looted during an anti-Japan rally on September 15th.
        
        October 29, Monday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. David Crystal and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.      A ceasefire agreement in Syria hasn’t been effective in stopping the violence.
        
        2.      In northern Nigeria, a vehicle packed with explosives detonated as it crashed into a Catholic church during a Sunday morning mass.
        
        3.      Construction of a petrochemical plant in eastern China is being partially scrapped.
        
        October 30, Tuesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.      Powerful storm Sandy is causing wide-spread damage along the U.S. east coast.
        
        2.      Opposition forces in Syria are accusing government forces of staging the fiercest aid raid since the conflict began, on the fourth day of a ceasefire that never took hold.
        
        3.      Japan, the United States and India have held talks on maritime security issues, including the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
        
        October 31, Wednesday, 2012 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Mr. Michael Rhys and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai
        
        1.      Fighting is continuing in Syria after the collapse of the 4-day ceasefire.
        
        2.      The European Union is considering sending troops to train government forces in Mali.
        
        3.      The downgraded hurricane Sandy has killed at least 35 people in 6 eastern U.S. states and left about 5 million households in 11 states without electricity.